Kathleen Hanna: “Queen of the Riot Grrrls”
Let’s talk about how the documentary came about. You and director Sini Anderson seem to have a lot in common, between the shared experience with Lyme disease and what you stand for as activists. She approached me about being the subject, and I was very hesitant at first because, you know, I’ve always considered myself a part of a feminist community, and being pulled out from that as a leader or whatever has always been really confusing for me, and something that hasn’t brought me a lot of joy. But as you saw in the film, I was very ill, and so I was like, “You know what? If someone’s going to do this, it should be her, and it should be now.” There are so many things in your life where you think, “This is the worst fucking time that I could do this. I’m sick. This is the worst decision.” But the worst decisions sometimes turn out to be the best decisions. When am I ever going to get this opportunity again? Some French guy approached me five years before via email, and I just deleted it. I don’t want some weird dude I don’t even know filming me. In retrospect, do you think you made the right decision, timing-wise? I’m really happy that I can bring awareness to Lyme disease and invisible illness in general. I feel like talking about being a woman who internalizes sexism to the point of minimizing my own symptoms is something a lot of people can relate to, and I hope that validates people so that maybe they speak up for themselves in the doctor’s office. You know? Because if we’re not healthy, then we can’t really change the world.